


Mates

by AvecPlaisir



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: M/M, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 09:49:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3170399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvecPlaisir/pseuds/AvecPlaisir





	1. Chapter 1

Remus worked in a muggle pub.

James, Peter and Sirius had teased him mercilessly when they found out because James and Sirius loved to tease everyone about everything, and Peter loved to follow their lead. _Muggle pub?_ James had laughed. _What’s next? You’ll be driving one of those muggle carriages—_

_\--They’re called ‘cars’ Prongs—_

_\--and using one of those muggle what-cha-ma-call-ems—_

_\--I honestly have no idea what you’re referring to—_

_\--and then you might as well **be** a muggle._

_Yes,_ Remus had replied dryly. _Let me just throw out my wand now, while I’m at it. Save me the trouble later._

Peter had snorted so loudly the tea he’d been drinking came out his nose and splattered on the wall opposite, and Mrs. Dunn who lived next door came to tell them off.

It wasn’t until later Remus had explained to Sirius that it was easier to get muggle jobs, as muggles were unaware that werewolves were real, and thus were less suspicious of Remus’s periodic absences.

_At most they think I’m lazy,_ said Remus. _Or some sort of addict. It’s refreshing, really._

Sirius had told James and Peter, and they had all spent an hour or so bemoaning how they hadn’t thought of that themselves, and then vowed to never tease Remus about working muggle jobs ever again. Which was easy enough, as there were plenty of other things to tease Remus about.

A week later, Sirius moved out of the flat he and James had shared and asked Remus—who had been alternating between living at home and sleeping on Sirius and James’s couch—to move in with him.

Remus had choked on his tea.

_What about Prongs?_ He’d coughed, mopping up the mess he’d made.

Sirius had waved a hand dismissively. _What **about** Prongs? _

Remus almost said, _Won’t he be jealous?_ but thought better of it and said instead, _Don’t you want him to move in with you?_

Sirius had rolled his eyes. _You know as well as I do that he’s moving in with Princess Redhead._

Remus said nothing. He did know.

_Besides,_ Sirius continued, grinning. _I’m not shagging Prongs._

Remus had choked on his tea a second time.

***

James Potter was at the muggle pub in which Remus worked.  It wasn’t quite empty, but at 2’o clock in the afternoon business was slow and when James walked in Remus was alone at the bar, polishing glasses.  

 “Hey, Moony, can we talk?”

Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Prongs,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Padfoot told me some things about you and him and, let me tell you, it’s _good_.”

James wiggled his eyebrows.

Remus closed his eyes. The bell over the door tinkled as a large ruddy faced man walked in.

“Prongs, I understand that you and Sirius are very close, but _please_ tell me you’re not in the habit of sharing your sex lives. Can I help you sir?”

The large man had come up while James had been talking and took his seat heavily.

“Scotch, please,” he grunted.

“Coming right up,” Remus said, ducking below the counter.

When he reemerged, James grinned at him innocently. “I only meant that Sirius told me a secret I thought you’d be interested in knowing, but I guess not, so I’ll just be going then.”

Remus frowned as he poured the man’s drink. “Prongs.”

“See you later, then Moony,” James said brightly. “See you, good sir!” He added, offering his hand to the other man at the counter. The man squinted at him.

“Prongs,” reproved Remus, handing the man his scotch. The man got up, scotch in hand, and relocated to the other side of the pub.

“You’re scaring away my customers,” grumbled Remus.

“Just being friendly,” said James. “Well, I was saying, must be off. Pip pip.”

“ _James_.”

James grinned. “Why Moony, it’s almost as though you want to know my top secret secret of Sirius’s that he told me and not you and swore me to secrecy.”

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Remind me to never tell you anything in confidence.”

“Okay, since you’re desperate—“

“I’m not desperate.”

“—I’ll tell you.” James leaned in closer. His smile was dazzlingly bright. 

He said, “Sirius _likes_ you.”

Remus was unimpressed.

“Yes,” he said. “We’re great friends.”

“No you twat,” James rolled his eyes. “ _Like likes_ you.”

“Prongs. How old are we?”

“No—I mean,” James made a vague motion.

“What? Have you finally realized that Padfoot and I have been shagging for the past few months? Congratulations. What gave us away? The shared bed? Or was it Sirius’s regular announcements at breakfast? Please, tell me, I —”

“ _Sirius told me that he is in love with you_.” James interrupted. “And I know you didn’t know that because he told me you hadn’t said the L-word to each other, so don’t pretend to be not surprised. And I knew he’d be too chicken to say anything, so,” James grinned at the shocked expression on Remus’s face. He stuck a triumphant finger in Remus’s face. “Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.”

Remus was quite possibly frozen. His expression hadn’t changed for several moments. In a week, his eyebrow might twitch. In a month, he might be completely thawed.

“But don’t tell Sirius I told you,” James added quickly. “He’ll kill me.”

Then James sauntered away and Remus wondered idly how, out of the two of them, it was he who had ended up being the queer one.

“Oh—wait, I forgot,” James said at the door, then came back. “Sirius wants to know what you want for dinner.”

Remus blinked, unfrozen. “Tell him to take out whatever he wants.”

“Not take out.”

Aghast, Remus put his hand over his mouth. “He’s not cooking?”

“He is,” said James gravely. “Look what you’ve done to him.”

 

***

Lily Evans answered her front door with a frown. Sirius Black was standing on her doorstep with and apron tied around his waist, flour on his face, and his hair in a bun.

“Sirius?” she said. “Where’s Remus? I thought you had a date tonight.”

“So did I,” said Sirius gravely.

“Why do you look like that?”

“I was cooking.”

“ _You_ were cooking?”

“Is James in?”

“Yes, he’s washing up in the kitchen….are you alright?”

“I’m fine thanks,” said Sirius, oddly subdued, stepping inside.

Lily watched him disappear into their kitchen.

A moment later she heard James say:

“Pads?”

Followed by the clatter-crash of several pans and dishes hitting the floor, and several exclamations:

 “ _I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!_ ”

“AHHH!”

“ _ARRGH_!”

Lily rushed to kitchen even as she heard James call out, quite desperately:

“OY! LILY! HELP!”

“What the bloody hell--? Sirius!”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM?” Demanded Sirius, who was shaking James by the front of his shirt.

“What—,” spluttered James, who was simultaneously trying to avoid having his head smashed against the floor and trying to free himself from Sirius’s grip. “To who—what’re you--?”

“TO MOONY!”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“DAMMIT, JAMES!”

“Sirius what--?”

“MOONY BROKE UP WITH ME!” shouted Sirius.

The kitchen grew very quiet.

“Wait,” said James after a moment. “I thought you guys weren’t officially dating?”

Sirius punched him in the face.


	2. Chapter 2

James had Lily floo Peter, because Peter was uncharacteristically good at cheering Sirius up. However, Peter’s arrival was completely unhelpful, with the exception that he brought Firewhisky.

“What happened to your nose, mate?” Peter asked.

“Sirius’s fist,” James said. holding a towel to it.

“ _Honestly_ James, just let me heal it,” said Lily impatiently. “You’re getting blood everywhere.”

“Can’t,” said James solemnly, clapping Sirius—who was slumped lifelessly against him—on the shoulder. “Shan’t. This is my burden to bear. When one of us is in pain, both of us are in pain.”

Peter hiccupped. “’S true Lills. Like peas n’ a pod they are. Like two sides of a galleon. Like…”

“Two monkeys,” Sirius said lamely.

“Yes,” nodded Peter, “thank you Padfoot. Like two monkeys in a barrel.”

Lilly rolled her eyes and took another shot.

***

Sirius woke up from his dazed half-sleep with his face plastered (with drool) to James’s shirt. James was still out cold, his glasses askew on his face and his hand resting lightly on Sirius’s shoulder. Lilly was somewhere to the right, snoring loudly, and Peter had already left. They had spent the night taking turns trying to cheer Sirius up, and had eventually fallen asleep there.

Sirius stood, rubbed his eyes, and without thought Apparated home.

 _Home_. Sirius’s stomach lurched as he popped into existence on his front doorstep. _Remus_. As Sirius stepped inside, there was another pop, and Remus had Apparated into the kitchen.

Remus looked at where Sirius stood frozen in the doorway.

“I didn’t stay the night,” explained Remus, blinking. “But, I guess you didn’t either.”

Sirius stared.

“I’ll just get my things,” Remus said uncomfortably.

Sirius hardly heard him. He was staring at the kitchen. It was obvious Remus had cleaned up after him. When Sirius had left, he’d left many half-baked creations in his wake. Cake batter still in a bowl, spaghetti sauce on the stove, lettuce and tomatoes on a cutting board. And that was just what he could remember. But it was all clear now, the counter spotless, the stove turned off and all the food put away.

 _Is that why you broke up with me?_ wondered Sirius. _Because I leave things half finished? Because I’m the kind of person that storms out and doesn’t even turn the stove off? Because you always have to clean up after me?_

Then Remus’s words sunk into Sirius’s brain and he shut the door and hurried to follow Remus.

 “Wh--?” Sirius started when he was reached the doorframe of their bedroom. He watched Remus pull open a drawer. “What are you doing?”

“Right now?” asked Remus, pulling out his small collection of t-shirts. “Or in the grand scheme of things?”

“Remus.”

“I’m moving out.”

“Why?”

“Well, we’ve broken up, haven’t we?”

“But you’re still my flat-mate.”

“The funny thing about that, Sirius, is that I was never paying rent.”

“Yes you were.”

Remus straightened, and pushed his hair back with a frown.

“Ten sickles every now and then hardly counts as paying rent.”

“Why does that bother you _now_?  What’s changed?”

“You know what’s changed, Padfoot.”

“What—we’re not _fucking_?” 

Remus winced.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” demanded Sirius, stepping forward into the room.

“We can’t keep sharing a room.”

“There’s another room. We can get you a bed.”

“But you’ll be paying for everything.”

“Yes, and I don’t mind at all.”

“But you _should_.”

“Why should I?” asked Sirius, as though he genuinely wanted to know.

Remus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. After a moment, Sirius prompted:

“You thought my willingness to pay for you was contingent on us shagging?”

Remus’s mouth twisted.

“You’re making it sound dirtier than it was.”

“I’m not trying to, Moony, but how am I supposed to feel knowing that you felt that way?” Sirius rand a hand through his hair. “Did you ever even like me at all?”

“It wasn’t like that, Padfoot, you know it wasn’t.”

“Then stay!”

“I can’t. _I_ mind.”

“We’re still mates, Remus.”

“I know,” Remus said, and went back to packing.

Sirius made a frustrated noise.

“Where are you going to stay? Because I thought the whole point of us moving in together was that you couldn’t afford your own place.”

 “You can’t change my mind, Padfoot.”

“I’m not trying to change your mind! Bloody hell, Remus—I’m _concerned_.”

Remus closed his suitcase with a grim smile.

“Don’t be.”

***

It wasn’t that Sirius moved out of his (and no longer Remus’s) apartment. It was that he literally could not stand being there by himself and thus began to spend so much time at James’s and Lilly’s apartment that everyone forgot that he had one of his own.

***

Outings were becoming a dismal affair. Remus had begun to avoid everyone, as only Remus could, and no one was sure where he was living.

“His mother, right?” said Lilly to James. “Surely he’s moved back in with his parents?”

James had shrugged. Remus Lupin was an unpredictably predictable creature. If James was sure about anything, it was that Remus was making everything much harder than it needed to be. That being said, James still attempted to corner Remus in the pub during work hours.

“You’ve got to move back in with Padfoot.”

“Hello Prongs.”

“He’s mad with worry.”

“Tell him I’m fine, but us living together isn’t a good idea anymore. I’m not sure it ever was.”

“Move in with me, then,” James said.

“Thank you for that lovely offer Padfoot, but that’s hardly necessary.”

“It’s very necessary.”

“I don’t want to trouble you and Lily.”

“Cor, Moony! You won’t be troubling us! We’re _mates_.”

“Yes, we are. Still.”

“You’re a stubborn bastard, you know that?”

Remus raised the glass he was polishing.

“At least tell me you’re not sleeping in the street.”

“I’m not.”

“Look me in the eye and say it.”

Remus met James’s eyes. “I’m not sleeping in the street.”

James sighed and went to report back to the group over dinner.

“I don’t know why he’s being so stubborn,” James concluded.

“What exactly did Remus say to you, Sirius?” Lilly asked.

“You’re going to have to be more specific, love,” Sirius said.

“When he first broke up with you, what where his exact words?”

Sirius thought.

“He walked in on me cooking dinner, and I said ‘Moony!’ and he said, ‘Padfoot!’ in that dry voice of his. Have you ever noticed that? How he always sounds amused by everything?”

“Think that’s just with you, mate,” said James.

“No, it’s not just with me. But anyway, then he said, ‘I’ve brought apples,’ and I said, ‘Brilliant, Moony. Wonderful. We’ve been apple-less for far too long. It’s indecent, that’s what it is. You’re a top-notch lad you are.’”

Lilly rolled her eyes. “

“I think he shook his head but I wasn’t really watching. And then I said, ‘As you can see, I’m making dinner. I sent that git Prongs by to ask you what you wanted but he never got back to me so I hope you wanted spaghetti and cake.’ And then neither of us said anything for a while, and I thought something was off but I didn’t say anything because you know how Moony is. He won’t say anything until he wants to. And eventually he came right up and said, ‘I don’t think this is working.’” Sirius paused. His eyebrows were furrowed. “And when I asked him what he meant by ‘this’ he just kind of motioned around and it looked a hell of a lot like ‘everything’.”

They all thought about that.

“I just wish I knew _why_ ….” Sirius said eventually, pressing he heels of his hands into his eye-sockets.

“Isn’t is obvious?” Peter said.

Everyone stared at him.

“Explain yourself, comrade,” ordered James.

“Well, I mean,” Peter said, “that’s just… _Remus_. He shuts people out.” Peter made a vague motion in the air. “It’s his thing. Dumping Sirius is the most Remus-like thing he’s done since they moved in together.”

“Cor,” said James. “He’s right.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius began to date other people.

“Is that what you call it?” James asked him impatiently one morning when Sirius had once again stumbled home hung-over, with hair so wild it might have been a wasp nest and in yesterday’s cloths. “You sure it’s not called fucking random strangers in seedy bars and drinking ‘til you can’t hate yourself anymore?”

Sirius waved him off and went to go lie down.

***

Remus didn’t normally frequent pubs by himself. He quite disliked the idea of strangers staring at him or worse—ignoring him. And then there was the fact that Remus didn’t actually like the taste of alcohol, and it was almost never worth it, drinking enough to get drunk just for the sake of getting drunk.

But now Remus was rather lonely, and without the option of the companionship of the Maruarders—hanging out with his friends meant facing Sirius’s wide questioning eyes, something Remus wasn’t prepared to do sober—Remus was left with the next best thing. The companionship of complete strangers.

The bell over the door tinkled lightly as he walked in. It was the middle of the night. Remus had decided to come after yet another futile attempt to fall asleep at a decent hour. If he was going to be awake, he might as well do something besides lie in bed and stare at the ceiling.

Remus is three drinks in when the door opens and none other than Sirius fucking Black walks in.

Remus instinctively ducks a little, his heart pounding in his ears, but he’s in a shadowy corner in the back, with several crowded tables separating them. Sirius wouldn’t see him. Which hurt a little, because Remus was used to being invisible—had honed the craft. Being a werewolf was easier if most people just didn’t notice you. But he had always been able to rely on Sirius to see him. Even when the rest of the world was looking elsewhere.

Remus wasn’t the only one who’d noticed Sirius’s entrance. Unlike Remus, Sirius was never invisible. His haughty good looks meant that he attracted attention constantly. By the time Sirius had found an empty table and seated himself, another young man with three piercings was making his way over.

Remus watched as Three Piercings leaned down and said something in Sirius’s ear. Watched as Sirius smiled. Watched Three Piercings put a hand on Sirius’s neck.

Remus stood, and waded through the crowd to Sirius’s table, getting some dirty looks on the way despite his “sorry”s and “excuse me”s.

Three Piercings was saying, “—haven’t seen you around before—“

Remus cleared his throat politely.

Three Piercings didn’t turn around, but Sirius looked up. A moment later his eyes widened and only then did Three Piercings turn to see what Sirius was staring at.

Three Piercings gave him a scathing once over, taking in Remus’s worn jeans and tattered shirt, his mousy hair and plain face. Remus had always insisted that there was nothing much to recommend him.

“Can I help you?” Three Piercings asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Remus.

Then he slid past and sat in Sirius’s lap.

“Remus?” Sirius asked. His voice was oddly high, like he couldn’t believe what was happening.

Remus kissed him in lieu of the answer. And kept kissing him. He heard Three Piercings make some sort of explication behind him, but Remus drowns it out in warmth of Sirius’s body, in sweetness of his mouth and the softness of his skin. His fingers scratched at the fabric of Sirius’s trousers, found the zipper.

“Remus, love,” Sirius breathed in his ear, capturing Remus’s wrists. “You would never forgive me if we shagged in a pub.”

Remus made a low sound in the back of his throat and stood. “I should go.”

Sirius, thrown by the mood shift, could only stare, bewildered.

“Sorry to interrupt your night,” Remus mumbled, and turned.

“Remus—wait!” Sirius called, having found his voice, but Remus did not listen. He was outside before Sirius caught up with him. Caught him by the elbow and spun him around. Grabbed him by the shoulders. Shook him. Shouted in his face.

“For once in your goddamn life, just tell me what you’re _thinking_!”

“I am _stupidly_ in love with you,” Remus said.

Then he left. ‘Stormed away’ are the wrong words to use. Sirius was stormy. Remus had always been scarily calm.

***

Sirius followed Remus to the shoebox of an apartment he’d found for himself. There were holes in the walls and rats in the holes and his bed was a badly stained mattress on the ground.

“It’s character building,” Remus said dryly.

“Remus.”

“Please leave.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m warning you.”

“Or what?”

Remus pulled out his wand. Sirius eyed it haughtily.

“I will count to ten,” said Remus.

“Stop shutting me out!” snapped Sirius.

“I can’t!”

“What do you mean you can’t? Of course you can!”

“Do you even know who you are Sirius? What you’re like? You move through life like it’s a book written about you. You’ve thrown so many people to the side once you’ve tired of them.”

“What—?” shrieked Sirius, indignant. “Like _who_?”

“Jennifer Engles, Dottie Mercer, Bryant Todd—”

“That’s—”

“--Connor what’s-his-face with that mole—” 

“Moony—“

“—Julia Parker, Clyde Walish—shall I go on?”

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, a small smile tugging on his lips.

“It’s almost like you’ve kept track of every person I’ve ever shagged.”

Remus smiled humorlessly in return.

“Look,” said Sirius, “You’ve got to understand that it’s not like that with you, Moony.”

“Why not?”

“Because—because you’re _Moony_.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten that, silly me.”

“I would _never_ hurt you.”

“The thing is, Padfoot, you already have.”

Sirius looked as though he’d been slapped.

 “Anyway,” continued Remus, rather ruthlessly, “I’ve learned not to trust your promises.”

Sirius had run his hand through his hair so much he looked like James.

Desperately, helplessly, he asked: “I thought you forgave me?”

“Of course I forgive you,” said Remus. “But this is not about forgiveness.”

“Then,” asked Sirius, stepping closer, because he felt that he was lost and was loosing, and did not know how to rectify anything at all, “what is it about?”

“This,” said Remus, calmly, “is about me protecting myself.”

“From _what_?”

Remus met Sirius’s gaze without a word. Sirius’s eyes dropped to Remus’s wand and widened.

“From me,” Sirius answered his own question. “You’re protecting yourself from me.”

“I can’t do it unless you help,” said Remus softly.

“Okay,” said Sirius.

Remus lowered his wand. 


End file.
